A sport that allows fighting? Does that even exist? Until recently, I have come to know a very intriguing sport that have been played for so long now which actually let players fight in the rink! Bloodshed, pain and tears have been around Hockey’s history and part if its tradition. It is the only professional sports that allows such vulgar, yet very “manly” ways of handling matters. How does NHL professional and amateur players feels about this violent rule? What if they don’t want to fight? Do they have any choices? How do they handle such situation?

As I have searched through the web for more information about the violence in hockey, the “CODE” came by frequently. What was the CODE? Similar to the “manbox” in the 4th episode: Man Enough, they are abide to a long list of rules imposed to them as players. In order to be part of the team, they are required to be tough and ruthless. In addition to the manbox, added is the CODE. It is just like any hegemonic explanation of what is a man all about, the CODE is about solidarity, pride, and respect to fellow players. Like the manbox, men have standards and expectations to meet. A very good example is Dun, despite not wanting to fight, he had no choices, but to do so. Not only that he has to protect the name of his team according to the CODE, but he really needed to defend for himself to, if he did not want to be beaten up to death. He was well respected by his team, not for his dominance on the rink, but because of how gentle and affectionate he was, toward his team. This might be his “flaw”, being a man, is to be tough and to show no emotions in front of others, as it shows your vulnerability (Kimmel, p. 163). He was forced to put on a mask, so he will be accepted by surrounding, because what lies beyond the mask, are his attitude, feelings, and the true him, that he was forced to conceal to be accepted. Why are they so violent, though? As I have done my readings related to masculinity, Violence is the “manliest” way of showing dominance. According to the 4 themes of Brennon’s masculinity, Hockey players have the traits of all 4 categories. First of all, They are not allowed to “sissy”. In other words, anything is acceptable, just do not be a girl. Second, As they cannot show anything related to femininity, which is the base of the very definition of the singular masculinity, they show their emotions and dominance by being aggressive. Being a player in NHL gives such a prestige, as they are considered very successful to have gone so far in this professional sport. They are admired by so many and it is an activity where seeing professional women are hardly seen. Can I say that hockey is indeed a sexist sport? Until recently that is. Professional Women’s Hockey stepped up their game and have been supported by a lot of organisations, in 2019. Finally, they also have to be strong and independent, especially if the get in to fights. All 4 of this themes are very well related to how Brennon categorized masculinity.

How does the enforcers feel about this brutality that they consider sportsmanship? As we are not all raised in the same manner and of the same surrounding, our standards and attitude of what is tolerable violence differ as well. Some enforcers, according to The Fifth Estate – CBC – The Code, said that it is what made them joined hockey. It is what some players and even viewers find exciting and not the actual match itself. They very much like it and it should be something all hockey players know about. This implies that all players knew that this level of violence exists in the rink, yet they go for it. Some are actually fearing it, but they have no choice, because it is the sport, the career that fills them up. Knowing the brutality in game, they have decided to continue with it, because of their love for hockey. Some believes that this is a way to show dominance in the rink. To be feared and to be the number one, is to be the strongest in fights and not in game. To show you guys how much men crave prestige and power over those who are weaker than them. They would go that far for their own purposes. In parents point of view, it is agonizing to see their children getting beat up, yet they cannot do anything, because it is a set rule. Some veteran players have sons that are aspiring NHL players and they know what they will have to go through. Some said that they are worried, but they know what they are entering. As for the managers and the association, do they really care about their players? To a certain extent, yes they do, but they seem to care more about the amount of money earned. The majority of the viewers are actually supporting such violence on the rink and have come to support hockey for this sole reason. By abolishing the fights in the rink, they predict a huge loss in the income, therefore they only set up rules to protect the players from very vital damages; such as not allowing players to take off their helmets during fights. What is more worrisome about the violence in hockey is the fact that hockey is not hockey without the violence that comes along it.

“It’s not hockey ya know, it’s figure skating on ice you know.”

A player

As some believes that hockey without violence is figure skating, a lot of the children took up from this and results violence even between young hockey players. A child’s mentality comes from what they see. As grown ups, professional hockey players should not set such a vulgar and brutal example for children. Especially those who are very well respected in the rink. The more recognition the man has, the more people would follow his lead. What would happen if the most honorable and respected hockey player on NHL be the type of person who beats up his nemesis to show his dominance? Guessed it right. Children who have seen such, would think that beating up other people would give him such honor. Thus, more and more people becomes violent. Parenting does not just come from the parents, everything that surrounds the child is what shapes him, his future, and his knowledge of what is right. Psychologically speaking, a child who’s exposed in a very violent household and addition to that, he is also a passionate hockey player, will surely be very aggressive toward his foes as he was continuously seeing violence not only in the rink, but also at home.

To conclude, the violence in hockey should not be supported for no matter what reason. Supporters of such scheme might find it very fun, as they are still youthful, but as they grow old and realize the impact of the violence to our future, which are the children, they might think twice of doing so. Researching about the violence in hockey gave me an opportunity to see the other side of it. When I arrived in Canada, never have I ever thought that this is an actual thing, until recently. I hope that I have elaborated my ideas right to convince you, the readers, that violence is not always the key to solve problems. Maybe speaking your mind off would solve it.

In the documentary, it was said that the idea of being sissy could follow through out a boy’s life. My understanding of that is how once you’re regarded as a sissy, you will always have an action that is considered to be sissy. Back in the Philippines when I was in primary, I asked my male classmates if I can play with them. The answer was “NO”. It was a sad and devastating memory I’ll never forget, but despite the rejection, girls came to me like angels. Instead of laughing at me and make fun of me (because I had an accent), they invited me if I wanted to play with them. That’s how my first of primary went off, great! This one caught my attention not only because I had a sissy childhood. Since then, it was easier for me to make friends with females than males. AND because I can make friends with girls so easily, boys would think I’m gay. They must’ve been jealous (lol).

Second of all, seeing how boys who plays with girls are bullied or considered sissy in the US, I could compare it to how here, in Montreal, the reaction you’ll get could be completely different (or at least in my case). Frequent questions the boys asked me back then: “how did you make friends with the girls?” “Can you teach me?” “What does she like?” and so on. In the video, I noticed how boys lacked intimacy and communication. They all held back their emotions to the point where they don’t even know how to act humane. This could be the reason why relationships easily breakdown nowadays, huh? On the contrary, here in Montreal, if one of the boys have good relationship with girls, they may even consider you as godlike figure. You are like the all-knowing kind of writer/author/narrator that can help them reach the girls, they open up easily and tell you if they have problems. Of course, this is not the case for everyone. It’s to point out that “it takes a village to raise a child”. To raise a good man requires a good environment. All this to say how grateful I am to live around a very accepting society.

“I want more than this narrow slice of humanity I’ve been given permission to taste.”

Carlos Andres Gomez

The passage I mention above is a reality we all live in. Men or women, the discrimination applies to everyone. The documentary made me further understand that even at early age, boys do look up to someone, to be inspired on what makes a man, a man. How men are trying to fit the box that the society made, to live in a mask. To hide their emotions behind the mask that the society have made. To fit the strict standard of a “man” to the point where it’s turning into a chain. It made me understand that what most of the boys, growing up, want is freedom, to freely express what they want and how they want. To act however they want. As I mentioned earlier, a stronger mentality would surely make a difference.

“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view—” “Sir?” “—until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”

Atticus Finch

As I read the book, Atticus taught me a lot of lessons that I will value forever. One of those is the very definition of courage. Most of us mistook courage for stereotypical behaviors for men such as aggression, sexuality and even physical strength which, for Atticus, is the complete opposite. He believes that true courage is when you know it’s painful to live through it, yet you live it through anyways. In other words, It’s the power to persist through difficult times. I was pretty touched back then, because I actually am not a big reader and I had to read this book for my English class (I was reading the whole book the day before the exam). Another lesson learnt was to be sympathetic and understanding. In the book, Atticus has two children. He always preaches them to never ever hold grudges to anyone, but to understand that all people have both bad and good qualities. We, like any other human, do all sort of mistakes and we should all try to understand each other. Do you guys now understand why I am so inspired by this man? In fact, he is not the only character that taught me lots of morals and proper values. Most of the characters from the book did.

Summarizing my thoughts about Atticus Finch, he is the type of man who stays calm during hard times and I believe that he is a man of wisdom and I do think that if there’s more people who has the same (or almost) mindset as him, our world would be a much better place and I guess war won’t even exist. I think that a man can be considered inspirational if they are very passionate about what they do and being trustworthy. Where as, Atticus was able to share his passion to me, which I hopefully am gonna be able to spread too! Anyways! I think I’m making this too long. If not yet done, I do hope that you guys read this amazing book and learn just as much as I did. The book is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

Kyle Supapo, signing off~